Out of the Darkness
by Tangent
Summary: One of Shampoo's schemes goes horribly wrong, and Ranma pays the price...
1. The Pain of the Heart

1.1 Ranma – Out of the Darkness  
  
A Ranma ½ fanfict by Tangent  
  
DISCLAIMER: 'Ranma ½' and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).  
  
A WORD FROM TANGENT: Actually, I can tell right away that Lord Talon probably won't like this story. Not that even I know how it will end just yet, but he's not usually one for bittersweet stories full of angst and…wait a minute. I forgot. His Lordship is one of the ones writing 'Eyes of a Stranger'. I withdraw my comments.  
  
PRELUDE: A Cruel Lie, Thoughtlessly Inflicted  
  
Akane knew she had gone too far as soon as she said it. Ranma hadn't even started the argument, and had just been unlucky enough to approach her after she had had such a bad day. Of course he retaliated verbally against her unprovoked accusations. Of course she upped the ante by becoming even more abusive in her arguments. Of course they hurt each other's feelings tremendously, as they had done on numerous occasions before. But they had always made up afterwards (or at least got over it, anyway).  
  
Akane didn't know if that would happen this time. She had crossed a line that she shouldn't have and had hurt Ranma to the very core of his being. It hadn't been her disparaging remarks about his distorted 'masculine values', nor had it been her comments to the effect that Ranma could stay a girl for all she cared and maybe he would learn something worthwhile for a change. No, it had been neither one of these, although they may have contributed to it. It had been... that statement. That horrible proclamation. That cruel and thoughtless lie. The shocked pain in his eyes when she said it told her that much. The sudden tears from the boy who would not admit to crying, and the slap from the boy who would never hit a girl if he could help it, told her so much more. She had gone too far this time, and had thoughtlessly and cruelly hurt her fiancé so deeply that he couldn't take it anymore.  
  
When she got home, she swallowed her pride and went upstairs and to the door of the room where he was staying. She worked up her nerve and knocked on the door…then knocked again.  
  
"Ranma?" Akane asked cautiously. "Ranma, I want to apologize…" She opened the door slightly and looked inside. What she saw caused her to open it all the way and check the room more carefully. Mr. Saotome's belongings were still present, including what looked like the shredded remains of his backpack, but Ranma's stuff was missing.  
  
Akane walked to her room as a feeling of general numbness washed over her. Opening her door, she made it halfway to her bed before she noticed that some items had been laid on her pillow. One she immediately recognized as Ranma's severed pigtail, and that realization broke her heart more than she had thought possible. The other was a small box. Trembling slightly, Akane reached out and picked it up gently before opening it carefully. What she saw devastated her as her heart broke all over again. Inside was a simple gold ring with a small ruby set in it.  
  
Ranma had been ready to propose to her. Ranma had been about to propose to her and she had inflicted such thoughtless and cruel pain that she had driven him away, possibly forever. Ranma Saotome was gone, and she never got a chance to say that she was sorry. She never got to hear his proposal. She never got to give the answer that she now knew that she would give in a heartbeat. She never got to say yes.  
  
Akane collapsed to her knees and wept for hours…  
  
SCENE CHANGE: Hours later, outside Nerima…  
  
Ranma didn't know how long he had been walking. It had been several hours now, but the pain in his heart had not grown any less. With a sigh, he stopped and set up camp by a stream. A quick bath in the stream washed away the dust and grit that Ranma had accumulated, and triggered the curse. Ranma settled down to sleep without bothering to change back to her true masculine form. Real men didn't cry themselves to sleep. Real men had to hold it all in and let the pain grow.  
  
Ranma found it too painful to be a man anymore, and took solace in her tears. At least as a girl she could cry and keep the pain from getting any worse. But, Kami help her, it never got any better either…  
  
CHAPTER ONE: The Pain of the Heart  
  
Akane made her way listlessly to Furinken High School. She had spent the past few days out of school because the grief and depression that she felt over Ranma's leaving had actually left her a bit debilitated and unable to deal with the outside world. She still didn't want to do much of anything, but her family got her up and moving… or at least got her started through the motions of having a life. As it was, she just wanted to curl up and cry, as she had done ever since Ranma ran away.  
  
Ranma had left her, and it was all her fault. She had hurt him and now he had run off to… who knows where. For the first few days, she, Nabiki, and their father had expected him to show up at Uchan's or the Nekohanten to be with one of his other fiancées, but there was no sign that he had actually done so. Ukyo would have celebrated her victory, but didn't seem to know that Ranma was even missing other than the fact that he and Akane hadn't been in school for a few days. The amazons would probably have carted Ranma off to China before he could change his mind, but they were still in Nerima. Nor had he gone over to be with Kodachi or (horrors) her brother, for neither of them could have resisted bragging had their respected 'loves' come running to them for comfort.  
  
No… Ranma had been about to propose to Akane, and had no interest in anyone else. He had been ready to make a commitment, and Akane had driven him away with the unjust, undeserved, and by far way out of line statement that she had inflicted him with during their last argument. Akane couldn't take it anymore, and collapsed to her knees once again, sobbing…  
  
Nabiki was at a total loss as to what to do. Akane was as much an emotional wreck as their father had been after their mother had died, or after anything bad happened to one of his 'little girls' (which, with Akane's current state, meant that he was on the verge of having yet another breakdown). At first, Nabiki had been inclined to blame Ranma for doing this to her little sister, and had felt vindicated for everything that she herself had done to him during the course of his stay. And then Kasumi had coaxed the reason that Ranma had run off out of Akane…  
  
Nabiki had found the grace within herself to feel just a little tiny bit guilty for her part in the romantic troubles between Ranma and Akane. Mostly, at the time, she had just been exasperated with Akane's monumental stupidity and bad luck. How could she have said… that? And just when Ranma was at his most vulnerable, having let down his emotional barriers enough to finally officially propose to her? Of course he had slapped her! Of course he had run away!  
  
For all Ranma's bravado, in some ways he was still very much like a small child. He had had a hard life, and had been raised by an idiot who kept sending all sorts of mixed signals about masculinity and proper social behavior to his son. Ranma's mother wasn't much better on the mixed signal front, as far as Nabiki was concerned, and (to be honest) living with the Tendos probably hadn't helped Ranma in that regard either. What he needed was stability and people he could look to for support. What he got was… warped social values that he couldn't believe in from his own parents, and who knew what signals the poor boy had received from the Tendos.  
  
Nabiki had expected with all certainty that Ranma had run off to be with Ukyo or one of the other girls who were chasing him. Any remaining vindication that she had been reserving for herself had vanished when she found out that Ranma had not shown up anywhere ever since he had run off. Despite all of her expectations, Ranma wasn't a Casanova. He had not run off to be with 'his' other women. He was, even with what Akane had done to him, still loyal to her.  
  
All this was running through her mind over and over again as she walked her sister to school. Even so, it was something of a shock to her when her sister fell to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably into her hands once again…  
  
Ukyo was heading out her door for school again, sadly wondering where Ranma and Akane had gone off to together. She was hurt, but not terribly surprised, that he had chosen Akane over her, figuring that between helping to wreck his mother's home and throwing bombs at the wedding that their fathers had tried to force upon them, that she had pretty much used up any remaining hold that she had had on him. Heck, she knew that she would be pretty lucky if he still wanted to be friends with her after all that she had done.  
  
Ranma had been pretty angry with her, and had gone as far as to say that the arrangement that Genma had made with her father was invalid and that if she wanted reparations, she should beat them out of his old man (apparently, Ranma hadn't been too happy with his father either…). Later, she had seen him walk out of a jewelry store with something in his hand. She had gotten her hopes up, but when she tried to get his attention, Ranma had just looked at her once and turned away, still angry with her. A few days later, both he and Akane were absent from school, which (in her mind) told her what happened.  
  
Akane had won.  
  
But if that was the case, why was Akane collapsed on the sidewalk, sobbing her eyes out and being consoled by a very distressed looking Nabiki? [Oh no!] she thought to herself. [Something must've happened to Ranma!]  
  
SCENE CHANGE: The Nekohanten…  
  
Shampoo was worried. Days ago, when it looked like Ranma was finally getting ready to decide on who he would marry, she had lain the groundwork for a plan that would cause Akane to hurt him deeply. It had taken much skill and cunning (and a few special types of herbs), and she had to act fast while he was still angry with his other suitors as well, or he may very well have run to one of them for comfort instead.  
  
No… Shampoo's plan was to eliminate the advantage that Akane had – make everyone equal again. That way, she could try to be the one to make up with him first and thus gain his heart. To an extent, it had worked. Ranma and Akane had had a big argument at a time when he was the most vulnerable, especially with the concoction she had finally managed to get him to inhale lowering his emotional barriers. That had taken some doing, and she had also dosed herself in the process, so had to be careful not to take things too personally. When Akane had said something that had caused Ranma to hit her, she thought the plan was working beautifully. What Shampoo witnessed next made her regret ever having caused it to happen in the first place.  
  
Akane had missed it, standing in mute shock at having been slapped by her iinuzuke, but Shampoo had seen the whole thing from where she was hiding. She had seen Ranma's horrified gaze at his own hand after he had slapped Akane, had read the silent 'no' that passed his lips, and had recognized the expression of a man who wanted to die…  
  
Whatever resolve had been keeping Shampoo's own dose of potion from wearing at her psyche broke at the pain she had caused her beloved, and she felt like she wanted to die as well. What was more, it had been days now, and the brew was only just barely beginning to show signs of wearing off. That meant that Ranma, who had gotten a much larger dose than she had intended when she 'crashed' into him, was still going through whatever emotional hell that she had provoked in him. Cologne had been right. This potion was too dangerous to have been of use to her. If only she had listened.  
  
Days had gone by, and Ranma had never come to her… and he never would. Shampoo lost. She had lost the moment that she had caused Akane to provoke an emotionally vulnerable Ranma into hitting her and thus tear a gaping wound into his own soul. If Ranma ever found out what she had done, he would hate her forever. Assuming that he didn't kill himself first.  
  
Shampoo wished that she had never invoked the kiss of death in the first place, but at the time she had not wanted to marry a woman. Had she known that Ranma was really a male cursed by Jusenkyo back then, she would have married him on the spot and solved all the problems that had come later. Now he could be lost to her for all time, and she wouldn't even have the comfort of being able to be his friend instead…  
  
SCENE CHANGE: The Tendo home…  
  
Ukyo listened attentively as Kasumi and Nabiki brought her up to speed with Ranma's disappearance and what had caused it. At first, she had been inclined to be angry with Akane for having hurt her Ran-chan so, but Akane's wrenching sobs were such that she found herself trying to comfort the poor girl instead. To this end, she had coaxed Akane to tell her what had caused her to say something that was so inflammatory. What Akane told her then was something she had not even told P-chan in confidence, for she hadn't thought about it since Ranma left.  
  
"It sounds like you were set up, Akane," Nabiki commented darkly.  
  
"Wh-what?" Akane stammered.  
  
"She's right, Akane," Ukyo added thoughtfully. "You and Ran-chan were played like a violin."  
  
"Oh dear," Kasumi remarked worriedly. "Who would want to do such a thing?" Her question provoked some thought from the group as they tried to think of who could be so manipulative. Soun was drawing a blank, as he had little understanding of Ranma's life beyond the scope of the Tendo home and dojo. Genma was drawing a blank as well, but in his case, it was a matter of too many suspects (who, he would later conclude, were actually people pissed off with him, not his son…). Akane was still too distraught to think of anything other than [I've been used to hurt Ranma!]. Nabiki and Ukyo, who were much more in tune with the whole matter, each came up with two suspects, and each quickly discarded Kodachi on the grounds that she wasn't subtle enough to have pulled it off. This left…  
  
"Shampoo!" Nabiki and Ukyo's mutual declaration startled everyone out of their speculations.  
  
"That BITCH!" Akane shouted as she jumped up and raced out the door and tore off towards the Nekohanten. The front gate, four inches thick, shuddered after the enraged girl had slammed it open, and then fell over off of its hinges.  
  
"Wait for me, Akane!" Ukyo called after Akane. "I'll help you!"  
  
Nabiki stared after them for a moment before coming to a realization. "Come on, everybody! After them! Or do you really want Akane to get the 'Kiss of Death' for beating Shampoo?" [Assuming that Shampoo doesn't wipe the floor with her first,] she thought.  
  
SCENE CHANGE: A short while later, back at the Nekohanten…  
  
The door of the Nekohanten would have exploded inward had it been shut, such was Akane's rage. Last week, she had driven Ranma away with that thoughtless and horribly cruel lie that she had inflicted on him in anger, right when he was finally going to propose to her. She had had a phenomenally bad day prior to that, which had primed her to be extremely abusive in her arguments. She had taken her frustrations out on Ranma, who had been unfortunate enough to pick that time to try to propose to her, causing him to slap her and run away. Just today, Nabiki and Ukyo had pointed out what she should have realized a while ago, had she not been too emotionally distraught to think straight.  
  
She had been deliberately set up to hurt Ranma. Akane was righteously pissed and damned well ready to take it out on the appropriate target.  
  
Ukyo was there to help her, just as angry as Akane was for what Shampoo had caused Akane to do to her poor Ran-chan. She may have lost her chance to be Ran-chan's wife, but she found that she still wanted to be his friend… and Akane's. Shampoo had hurt them both tremendously with her little mind game, and Ukyo was as furious as a riled up swarm of hornets. The amazon bitch was going to pay for what she had done, and pay dearly.  
  
Oh yes, the door of the Nekohanten would have exploded inward had it been shut… which it wasn't.  
  
Shampoo just stood terrified, knowing that her two rivals had caught on to what she had done. Ordinarily, she would have risen to the challenge, but her guilty conscience, still fueled by the potion she had accidentally inhaled when she had overdosed Ranma, drained her will to fight. Shampoo, strongest warrior of the Joketsuzoku in her generation, began to cry in fear and shame, like a small child caught doing something horrible. This was going to hurt!  
  
Mousse caught on to the fact that something was going on, and prepared to leap to Shampoo's defense… as soon as he could tell who Shampoo was that is. He was currently set to defend a chair with his very life if need be.  
  
Mini-spatulas flew out, fast and accurate, but were deflected by the sudden appearance of Cologne's staff. Which the elder amazon was still holding. Her presence stopped the impending fight for the moment. "Now," Cologne stated. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?"  
  
SCENE CHANGE: Somewhere on the open road…  
  
Ranma wandered aimlessly in her misery, not really caring where she was or where she was going. To say that she was lost would be inaccurate though, for (unlike Ryoga) she knew how to navigate both cities and wilderness due to her years of experience while training with her father. She could find out where she was and how to get to where ever she wanted to be any time she wanted to. She just didn't want to.  
  
Such was Ranma's misery that she failed to notice the signs that her health was failing. Her turmoil was causing her natural resistance to drop considerably, and she already had a slight fever and infrequent bouts of dizziness, both signals lost in her torrent of emotional pain. Bathing in unheated streams while she was like this wasn't helping matters any either.  
  
It had been days now, and she hadn't bothered changing back into a guy ever since that first bath the day she ran away. Pieces of her argument with Akane still ran through her head in a morbid loop that tormented her day and night. How Akane had rejected Ranma's warped 'masculine' values; how Akane had told Ranma to 'be a girl for all I care, maybe you'll learn something worthwhile for a change'; how Akane had said… that.  
  
What had happened next had horrified Ranma so much that he just had to get away before it happened again. He'd rather face cats than experience it again. It had hurt him far worse than what Akane had said to provoke it, and he wished with all his heart that it had never happened. He had slapped Akane… hard… in anger.  
  
It had felt like he was killing himself. It still did. He had hurt Akane, whom he had given his heart to, whom he had finally admitted to himself that he loved, whom he was finally going to propose to and hopefully marry. He wanted to die himself, before that ever happened again. The only thing that kept him from running to his mother and committing seppuku was the knowledge that this would hurt Akane worse than the slap itself had.  
  
['Be a girl for all I care,] the words echoed in Ranma's mind, [maybe you'll learn something worthwhile for a change!']  
  
"I'll do it, Akane!" Ranma vowed to herself, though she could barely speak past vocal cords still drawn tight by the pain of her emotions. "I'll be a girl for you… learn whatever it was that you were talking about… I don't deserve to be a man anyway, after what I've done!" Ranma's voice cracked bitterly with self -loathing and depression. "I'll do it, Akane… just don't hate me anymore…" The memory of what Akane had said afterwards overwhelmed her, the emotional torment that it caused in no way abated by the passage of only a few short days. The statement that had hurt Ranma so much that it had caused him to strike Akane. The statement that (along with Shampoo's potion) now had her convinced that Akane hated her and always had. The statement that, despite the emotional pain that it caused, had not dissipated her love for Akane in the slightest.  
  
Ranma collapsed into herself, weeping sorrowfully and crying tears of guilt and shame… as well as those of pain and heartbreak…  
  
TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. Oh, Bitter Path of Tears

1.1 Ranma – Out of the Darkness  
  
A Ranma ½ fanfict by Tangent  
  
DISCLAIMER: 'Ranma ½' and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).  
  
A WORD FROM TANGENT: In this chapter is an event that Lord Talon, for one, had been looking forward to when I first described the idea to him. Rather than spoil the surprise (such as it is), I'll leave you to try to discover what it was. If you're really nice, I may drop a hint (Pansuto) or two (fight), but then again (Who am I kidding, anyway?) I might not…  
  
CHAPTER TWO: Oh, Bitter Path of Tears  
  
Ryoga approached what appeared to be Ranma's female form at long last, after another week of being lost. After Akane's private confession to 'P- chan' about what she had unthinkingly done to Ranma, he had finally gotten over his crush on her. True, she hadn't meant what she had said to his onetime rival, but she had said it just the same. It broke his heart to finally realize that his 'kind and gentle angel' was neither kind nor gentle in real life. Fortunately, Ryoga had already fallen in love with a new girl by then or his poor heart of glass would have shattered on the spot.  
  
Still, even with Akari in his life, Ryoga had been unwilling to give up being 'P-chan' and spending time with his first love. Partly it was to get a rise out of Ranma, but mostly it had been because he knew it would break Akane's heart to suddenly lose her precious pet like that. That…and part of his heart had still belonged to Akane.  
  
Well…no longer. While he still had some affection for Akane, that's all it was now – just the shattered remnants of dreams past. He couldn't even hate Ranma anymore, for what Akane had done to him had hurt his old rival far more than anything he himself could have done to him. Ryoga remembered telling Ranma once that he would 'destroy his happiness!' He now regretted those words as he witnessed the result of Akane having done just that.  
  
Ryoga returned his attention to Ranma-chan as he walked toward her. Even without the pigtail, there was no mistaking Ranma's female form. With Akane's confession still fresh in his mind, he had thought briefly on trying to mend the differences between himself and his old rival. Before he could get Ranma's attention, Pansuto Taro had attacked her out of the blue for some reason. [Like pantyhose-boy needs one…] Ryoga thought. Still, it wouldn't do for Ranma to get creamed after Ryoga had finally forgiven him… er… her.  
  
"Leave Ranma alone, Taro!" Ryoga shouted, running up to where Taro was pounding on the listless redhead. Oddly, Ranma didn't seam to be putting up any kind of resistance at all to Taro's unwarranted assault. In fact, she barely seamed to notice it at all, other than picking herself up again and again, and trying to continue on her way.  
  
"Stay out of this, Pig-boy!" Taro commanded arrogantly, not letting up his attack despite the lack of response he was getting. "This is between me and Fem-boy!"  
  
"Like Hell it is!" Ryoga shouted, striking Taro away from Ranma with a vicious backhanded blow. He turned his attention towards Ranma briefly. "Are you all right, Ranma?"  
  
"Oh…" Ranma responded almost lifelessly. "Hi, Ryoga-kun." [Akane's always telling me to treat Ryoga better…] was the path that her mind was taking at the moment.  
  
"Are you feeling okay?" Ryoga asked, a bit nonplused at Ranma's response. Unfortunately, he had kept his attention away from Taro for too long, and got blind-sided himself.  
  
Taro was a bit annoyed. Partly because Ryoga had interfered, but mostly with himself for forgetting how blasted strong Ryoga was in human form and letting him get such an easy hit in. Well, there was a quick way to fix that, and it was only a stream away.  
  
Ryoga found himself in a bit of a fix. While he and Ranma had always been more or less on par with one another, sometimes with one having the advantage over the other and sometimes not, Pansuto Taro had been a tough opponent ever since anyone had known him. Not that he was that much better as a fighter (although that did contribute to the problem). It was that he was even more prone than Ranma to exploit a known weakness unfairly.  
  
Case in point: Ranma didn't usually go out of his… er… her way to transform Ryoga into P-chan in the middle of a fight, and when it did happen, Ranma either stopped fighting or adjusted his... er... her tactics and pulled her blows accordingly. Taro, on the other hand, would not only turn Ryoga into a pig on purpose and keep fighting at his full ability, he saw no problem with turning himself into a monster and pressing his advantage even further.  
  
Such as now, as Taro body checked Ryoga into the small stream that Ranma had been following and just let himself fall right in after the lost-boy. This did not bode well for 'P-chan', who had an impending sense of doom as he thought about the pain that he was about to be put through. And then something odd happened…  
  
"You leave P-chan alone!" Ryoga heard a voice cry out. Not Akane's voice, although she was the usual source of the phrase. No, Akane's voice was typically a mix of anger and protectiveness when she uttered that particular statement, while this voice was different. The anger was there all right, but it seemed to play a minor counter to a wash of utter hopelessness and despair. A voice full of pain and emotional torment so great that P-chan could not help but to feel compassion for the owner of such an obviously broken heart. A voice that incongruously belonged to Ranma Saotome, one of the most self-confident people that P-chan knew.  
  
Now that Ranma-chan was fighting back, Taro-Yoma had a much harder time hitting her. Not that the monster-boy was actually hurt by any of the blow's from Ranma's female form, other than just a little from the modified amaguriken technique that she had to use against Ryoga. Oddly, what few of Taro's strikes that connected with Ranma-chan didn't seem to faze her either.  
  
After all, what possible damage could Taro do to Ranma-chan that could cause her greater pain than that which already existed in her heart?  
  
Then Ryoga witnessed what a heart in pain could do to a person. Ranma, who had never been depressed enough to pull off a perfect Shi Shi Hokodan before, had let loose one the likes of which Ryoga had never seen. Ryoga thought that his own seemed to pale in comparison to what Ranma had unleashed on Taro's monstrous form. Pansuto Taro then lay broken and defeated at the end of a quarter-mile long trench that cut clean through two hills as if they weren't even there.  
  
That had arguably been one of the greatest victories Ranma ever had, perhaps even greater than her defeat of Saffron back in China, judging from the sheer amount of raw power that she had unleashed. Ryoga half expected Ranma to cheer up on the spot after such a decisive victory over Taro's monstrous form. He certainly never expected her to return to the listless misery that he had seen before the fight. The only times Ranma had been like that before had been when Akane had been presumed dead.  
  
[This is not good,] P-chan thought to himself.  
  
"P-chan, where did you come from?" Ranma-chan asked as she picked the little black pig up, giving all indications that she had apparently forgotten that P-chan was Ryoga's cursed form. "Akane must be worried about you. I… I had better… I… (Choke) I… AKANE HATES ME! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
[I stand corrected,] the now shocked pig thought to himself as Ranma hugged him tight against her bosom (which the pig did his best to ignore) and bawled her eyes out with a fountain of tears that easily rivaled any of Mr. Tendo's. [This is really not good!]  
  
In the end, P-chan watched as Ranma-chan heated some water to turn Taro back into his true human form, took him to a hospital and left him there. The little black pig then spent three days traveling with his old rival, trying to cheer her up somehow. Never once, during those three days, had Ranma bothered to change back into a guy, despite plenty of opportunities to do so. Never once, did the boy turned girl seem to remember that P-chan was actually Ryoga (much to Ryoga's discomfort, as they wandered farther and farther away from his things). Each day, Ranma put up a painfully obvious false front of cheerfulness for the sake of Akane's 'pet', but that never lasted long before she was reduced to tearful misery and self- loathing. Each night, Ranma had cried herself to sleep, not caring that P- chan watched on silently.  
  
For three days, P-chan could only watch helplessly as Ranma wandered in aimless misery, barely acknowledging the world around her. Each day, the lost-boy turned pig bore silent witness to Ranma-chan sinking deeper and deeper into a pit of depression and despair. Twice, he had seen his once hated rival come to the vary brink of taking her own life, only to stop at the last moment, crying that she couldn't do that to Akane.  
  
Thus, it was with great alarm when, after the third day, P-chan realized that he had somehow gotten separated from Ranma. He had resolved to try to get Ranma and Akane back together, before the pain in their hearts claimed either of their lives. It was obvious (to him) that they still loved each other. Only broken hearts still hopelessly in love could feel that much pain.  
  
How could he have ever wanted to destroy someone's happiness?  
  
SCENE SHIFT: back at the Tendo estate…  
  
Every one had gathered at the table while they tried to figure out what to do next. Shampoo sat huddled next to her great-grandmother as she withered under the glares sent her way from Ukyo and Akane. Both had questioned her right to be here after what she had done to Ranma, but she had to make amends somehow. That she loved Ranma dearly wasn't in doubt, but the pain she had caused her beloved had cost her any right to his heart. She owed it to Ranma to try to fix the damage she had done, to bring him and Akane back together again if at all possible. On top of that, she owed Akane and Ukyo her life, because they had prevented her from committing suicide while her potion enhanced guilt tore at her soul.  
  
Granted, Akane had said something about not letting her off that easy, and Ukyo had agreed, but Shampoo figured that whatever their plans, she deserved what she got. Even her great-grandmother, Cologne, had been very angry with what she had done, and Shampoo's status as an amazon was now in question.  
  
Throughout it all, Mousse had stayed by her side. He too, had kept vigil by her bed after her suicide attempt, concern for her well being never leaving his face. Although even he agreed that she had gone too far this time, he could not find it in his heart to hate her. Be angry, yes, but hate her? No, that was the one thing he could not do, even now. He would be there for her till the very end. He would help her find her way back to the proud warrior she once had been, even if she never came to love him in return, such was his devotion.  
  
For once, Shampoo did not blind herself to this fact. But did she truly deserve such devotion? Or was it possible that she could once again make herself worthy of it? Only time would tell, and she hoped that when she had finally redeemed herself, that he would still be waiting for her.  
  
Akane, whose own burden of guilt and grief had lessened considerably with the revelation of Shampoo's plot and the concoction that she had overdosed Ranma with, was awash with mixed emotions. While she still felt a little guilty over what she had said to Ranma to cause him to slap her, she felt a whole lot better once she had found out that it hadn't been entirely her own fault that he had reacted the way he had. On the other hand, she was now worried sick that he may have killed himself or otherwise come to harm. From what Shampoo had said, Ranma had inhaled much more of the potion than she had, so the emotional torment that she had caused was not only that much worse, it would last that much longer as well.  
  
And Shampoo, a girl whom Akane hadn't been sure even had a guilty conscience, had tried to commit suicide over having caused Ranma pain.  
  
Ranma, whom Akane knew to be over protective of her, had to be experiencing a kind of emotional hell much worse than what the amazon had put herself through. She could only hope that he had not succumbed to any such urge, that he would pull through and endure the pain in his heart until the potion wore off. And that he would return to her once it had.  
  
Such hopes and prayers were all that she had to keep her going now. Watching the news, hoping for some mention of Ranma, no matter how obscure, had become a daily ritual at the Tendo home. The sense of dread that she felt every time there was a report that a body had been found had, thus far, been abated by a sense of guilty relief when the bodies turned out not to be Ranma.  
  
It was a wonder that she made it through the school day, but she was back in school again. And fighting off the boys again. And pounding Kuno into a pulp every time he said anything disparaging about her Ranma. Which was daily. Several times a day in fact.  
  
One would think that even he would learn after a while, but there you have it…  
  
Ukyo was also worried about her Ran-chan. While she had been disappointed that he had chosen Akane over her, she decided that she could live with it if it made him happy. She loved him enough that she could let him go. He didn't even have to leave her life, if she could patch up their battered friendship. If she got the chance to, that is.  
  
Thanks to Shampoo, Ranma had run off, and may have committed suicide over having hit his beloved Akane. If that were the case, then Ukyo would never forgive the lavender-haired amazon. She wasn't sure if she ever would even if Ran-chan turned up tomorrow, all bright eyed and smiling. Like Akane, Ukyo had not prevented Shampoo from killing herself because she felt that; deep down, she deserved another chance. No, Ukyo firmly agreed with Akane's sentiment in this case. Shampoo was not going to get off that easy.  
  
Ukyo and Akane had already talked it over with eachother, once they had found out the whole truth about what Shampoo had tried to do, and what had actually happened. The ultimate arbiter of the amazon's fate would be Ran- chan himself, if he was still alive. Shampoo would have to apologize to him for what she had done, and beg his forgiveness. And live with his response.  
  
If (and this was a big if) Ran-chan forgave her, then fine. Ukyo and Akane would forgive her too. They might not like it, or her, but they would not go against Ranma if he decided to be big hearted about it. If he wanted Shampoo punished, then she would be punished to whatever extent he demanded. In all likelihood, he would demand that she leave, and never bother him or Akane ever again. And that would be enough for Ukyo and Akane.  
  
For what worse punishment could be given to Shampoo than the knowledge that she had passed out of her beloved Ranma's heart forever?  
  
SCENE SHIFT: Days later, on some bridge or other near a metropolitan area…  
  
Ranma walked, a bit unsteadily, along the railing of the bridge. Her emotional torment had finally begun to relent enough to allow rational thought again, but the fever she had caught was still making her judgment muddled. She felt incredibly drained and tired beyond belief, but currently lacked the sense to go somewhere safe and rest, let alone avoid her penchant for walking rails and fences while in this state. She was dizzy and mildly aware that she could fall to her death if she fell the wrong way, but she was incapable of caring about that at the moment.  
  
What Ranma didn't know was that the potion that Shampoo had overdosed her with (back when she was a guy and trying to find Akane so he could propose to her) had finally worn off. While the damage it had wrought was still there, it had left a kind of emotional numbness in its wake. After two weeks of emotional lows so terrible that they had nearly caused her to give in to the impulse to commit suicide several times, despite how doing so would hurt Akane, Ranma's battered psyche had reached the point of shutdown.  
  
With an exhausted sigh, and pretty much running on automatic, Ranma slumped down clumsily against a support and stared out into nothing. Only pure luck had kept her from falling in either direction, and she lacked the energy and motivation to try to move again, despite her precarious seat.  
  
As she stared blankly out into space, she pondered what she would do next. She seemed to have broken through whatever emotional wall had prevented her from doing something constructive about her situation. So far, she had done nothing more than run away from her problems, just like her father always did.  
  
Well, not any more. Tomorrow, Ranma would truly begin her journey out of the darkness her life had become. Tomorrow, Ranma would set herself firmly on the road to redemption, and stay there until her heart had healed and she was ready to face Akane again. One way or the other.  
  
Tomorrow… 


End file.
